Overwatch’s Next Hero Might Not Be Doomfist After All

Fans of Blizzard’s Overwatch have long assumed that Doomfist would be the next plyable hero Blizzard would add to the game. According to Game Director Jeff Kaplan, however, that may not be the case after all.

Posting on the Overwatch forums over the weekend, Kaplan responded to a fan request to reveal the heroes Blizzard is working on by simply stating “24 is not who you think it is.”

Kaplan’s post references the 24th Overwatch character, which is whomever Blizzard adds to the game next, as its current roster sits at 23. Fans have been assuming Doomfist’s addition to the lineup was imminent since before the game even launched, but it now sounds like Blizzard plans to make someone else hero number 24.

“We have multiple new heroes being worked on right now plus numerous events and event-related content,” Kaplan wrote in the same thread in which he blew up the possibility of Doomfist being the next hero. “We’re always asking ourselves ‘what would make the biggest impact for the most people’ when we prioritize. Right now, we feel like introducing a new hero to the [lineup] would be more impactful to the game. Hope that makes sense.”

The Doomfist gauntlet first showed up in Overwatch’s premiere cinematic trailer from BlizzCon 2014 featured the characters Reaper and Widowmaker attempting to steal the gauntlet.

An in-game poster on the map Numbani — the map on which players are tasked with escorting or protecting the gauntlet to win the match — later revealed that Doomfist actually referred to at trio of characters who have worn the gauntlet and adopted its name as their own: The Savior, The Scourge, and The Successor. It’s not clear whether or not Blizzard plans to eventually make all three Overwatch heroes.

Nevertheless, Blizzard fan and actor Terry Crews has repeatedly made public his desire to voice Doomfist in Overwatch. Crews made public his visit to Blizzard headquarters in December 2016 and made his most recent public case to voice Doomfist just last month.

So who is the next character? Blizzard isn’t saying, but a Reddit user points out some evidence that it could be a hero known simply as “Greek.” The scuttlebutt emerged after voice actor Alex Malaos updated his CV stating that he had done voice work for Greek. He later removed any reference to Greek, but the update is archived here.

Nick has been a gamer since the 8-bit days and has been reporting on the games industry since 2011. Don't interrupt him while he's questing through an RPG or desperately clinging to hope against all reason that his Philly sports teams will win something.